… but Mladenovic says partisan crowds are part of sport

DEALING with boisterous partisan fans goes hand-in-hand with playing tennis, summed up home favourite Kristina Mladenovic as she responded to Garbine Muguruza’s complaint that the French Open spectators had crossed a line

yesterday. play on such a great stage,” she said. “At the end of the day, sport is a show.”

Speaking about her final in Stuttgart, she explained: “I thought the crowd was extremely tough there and I did not make any comment because it’s sport.

“I don’t know if I have a different culture of sport. You know, team sports and everything,” added Mladenovic, who is of Serbian descent.

Triple champion Mats Wilander said it was tougher for women to deal with the pressure, because their matches are shorter. “It’s a really tough situation,” he told Reuters. For Wilander it’s not a question of whether the crowd crossed a line, it’s a question of how the players deal with intensity.

The Swede speaks with authority. He lost to Frenchman Yannick Noah at Roland Garros in 1983, and beat Frenchman Henri Leconte in 1988.

“But for men, best-of-five, you have time to get over it, time to block it out. But best of three? Matches finish quicker, it can really catch you by surprise,” he said.

Mladenovic’s quarterfinal opponent, Swiss Timea Bascinszky is aware of the challenge ahead.

“I know that the crowd will not be with me, and it’s okay,” she said after beating Venus Williams yesterday..

“Maybe so many Swiss people bought tickets. I mean, Stan (Wawrinka) is doing amazing at the French. Me, my third time in a row in the quarters. Maybe it’s going to be a lot of Swiss flags. You never know.” – Reuters